In Mali, journalists attacked in coup aftermath

New York, March 30, 2012--The Committee to Protect
Journalists condemns attacks and threats against several journalists covering the aftermath of the March 22 military coup in
Mali that ousted President Amadou Toumani Touré.

"We are alarmed that journalists are facing
intimidation and assault as they cover the aftermath of Mali's coup," said CPJ
Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. "We call for an immediate end to
aggression against journalists covering this important news story, and we will
monitor the situation closely."

Soldiers loyal
to junta leader Captain Amadou Haye Sanogo detained and handcuffed French
journalist Omar Ouahmane,
a reporter with France's state-owned
radio broadcaster Radio France, on
Wednesday night, according to a CPJ interview with the journalist and an
Associated Press report.
Sanogo is the head of the ruling junta in Mali and was responsible for the
ouster of Touré. Local journalists
said the soldiers stopped Ouahmane as he entered a hotel across the street from
the junta-controlled national public broadcaster ORTM.

Ouahmane told CPJ that the soldiers became
aggressive when they discovered he was a French journalist. Local journalists
told CPJ that the junta have perceived the French media as biased in favor of Touré
ever since the French government-funded international broadcaster Radio France
Internationale aired an exclusive interview
with the ousted president this past week.

"They threatened to kill me several times. They put
their guns to my forehead and said they will blow my brains out." Ouahmane told
CPJ. "I was forced to kneel and was handcuffed for about two hours with my
wrists bleeding. They took my phone and recorder."

On Thursday evening, soldiers affiliated with Sanogo
arrested five journalists in the outskirts of Bamako who were attempting to
interview Touré. The journalists, who work for international media outlets but
asked that their identities remain secret, were detained at a military base but
released later that night, two of the journalists told CPJ.

Speaking with
CPJ today, Alassane
Souleymane, a media adviser for the junta, denied that any
journalist had been assaulted, but acknowledged the detention of some journalists.
"Security agents stopped some journalists on the road, and for their security
they were escorted to some safe place and left to go. No journalist has been
assaulted," he said.

Sanogo has been strongly criticized
for the coup
in which the lawful president of Mali was overthrown within a month of the April
presidential elections. Mali has been one of the most stable and successful
democracies in Africa, complete with free media. The last time CPJ documented
an attack on the Malian media was 2007.